Chicago Cubs: Breaking down the best contracts on the team

Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez – one year, $10 million

The first mention of the best contracts goes to the one and only Javier Baez. Báez, who is in the middle of his arbitration period with the club, signed a one-year, $10 million deal in the second stage of arbitration. He has one year of arbitration remaining before becoming a free agent in 2022.

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Báez has quickly risen through the ranks for not only the Cubs but throughout baseball as one of the most electrically entertaining players to follow and watch. The 27-year-old has been exceptional over the past two seasons, posting a combined 9.7 WAR along the way.

He has quickly become one of the best defensive infielders in the game as well, and had a monster defensive season in 2019, posting a 26 DRS and 9.5 UZR/150, respectively, over 1,116 2/3 innings. Unbelievably, Báez did not win a Gold Glove, as he was beaten out by Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed. I’m still bitter about it, but I digress.

Due to the production over the past couple of seasons, as well as the hopefully continued progression for Báez’s career arc, Báez right now remains the best contract on the team. If the Cubs can manage to figure a way to extend Javy, well, it will only become that much sweeter.